DalyDose of…Valentine’s Day

My blog about Valentine’s Day, much like my paying of bills recently: late but not forgotten. I was on empty and had nothing to give, though my intent was always there.

I have to point out that the trailer definitely doesn’t give away all the funny moments of the film. In fact, this trailer has some moments that aren’t even IN the film. I don’t really have an opinion on whether that’s a good or bad thing, it’s just something I observed.

Is there irony in going to see a comedy that explores the pitfalls of love and more specifically Valentine’s Day, alone? I pondered that question as I walked home from the Director’s Guild of America’s Theater, where I saw a screening of the movie as part of my SAG Hollywood Film Society membership. It seemed a bit less lame to go to the movie by myself since it was part of the “film society”.

So, the movie…I should probably say a little something about that. I thought it was mostly well done and utilized the talents of the huge cast. I do wonder what the payroll for this movie was!! Speaking of, let’s just hope that Taylor Swift hasn’t decided to pursue acting full-time.

My favorite character in the film in Los Angeles. I loved how they spanned the city from the canals of Venice to Big Boy in Toluca Lake. They managed to show the soul of the city and avoid cliche’ locations like the Hollywood Sign, Santa Monica Pier, the Sunset Strip and Rodeo Drive. Well, Rodeo Drive makes a cameo appearance…watch the credits.

I was really surprised at how much I liked Ashton Kutcher in this film. He seemed real and down to Earth and you actually care about what happens to him. Jennifer Garner was her sexy plus bad-ass combo self, especially with the baseball bat. I wonder if she picked up those skills being a baseball fan with Ben.

One of the themes of the film is that good guys CAN win. This was a timely theme for me as I’ve had this discussion with a few friends lately. I had been thinking about my own situation and how many amazing women that I have in my “friend zone”. One of the things that I pondered while walking home from the film was that the smell of what I think was magnolia was unseasonable. What? Oh yeah, we’re talking about the movie and similar themes in my life. Well, I’ll ease back into that with a little story. There was this girl there and she sat in the row behind and she was also by herself. The power of a Valentine movie and two people so close in proximity had me dreaming of a Hollywood ending for the two of us. I think the cinema inspired fantasy made her way a better target than she was, because when I saw her in the lobby after she was average in looks and annoying on the phone with her friend. No Hollywood ending…no happy North Hollywood ending, either! 😉

Back to the theme of the movie where the nice/good/loyal/romantic guy can ‘get the girl’ and how that relates to my ‘friend zone’ issue. I am wondering if my search for “her” is too focused on strangers. Do I already know “her”? Is “she” already a resident of the “friend zone” ready to move up in the JDE? I don’t know this for sure, but I’m going to be looking at some of my friends in a whole new way.

I’d love to hear what people think about these things. Please feel free to leave your thought under comments.

I wanted to disagree with you about the trailer having parts in it that were no-shows in the movie, but I watched your clip and you’re totally right! I dunno how I feel about that either….the movie won me over so in this case I didn’t even notice let alone mind!

In regards to the “friend zone” question…I’m not sure. So many movies end happily by two friends not even really SEEING each other until one day…WHOOOOOOSHHHH…they do and OMGOSH!!!!! they kiss and it’s AMAZING and live happily ever after. (Like Valentine’s Day) But I think this is a rarity. I think love happens in SO many possibilities it makes most sense to be open to anyyyything that could be just around the next corner. : )

I forgot to tell you that I almost jumped in my seat when I saw the canals of Venice – you had just enlightened me to this treasure and I immediately recognized it in the film. You get a gold star!

I agree, I thought Los Angeles had a great starring role and it’s good to see film come back to LA. There’s a huge campaign that is in the works for advertising bringing movies back to LA – rightfully so.

Also, as far as the friend zone thing goes: sometimes great lovers can come from great friendships. It’s great to know someone so deeply, but you have to remember that if you truly care about them and have romantic feelings about them, it’s better to double down and place the bet than wonder if you would have made a return at all. Just sayin’ 🙂

I love that you got to see the canals before seeing the movie!!!! I like getting a gold star too, cuz I’m competitive like that. 🙂

It was good to see good ‘ole Los Angeles and some places that don’t get a ton of coverage in movies too. I was proud to live here.

Double down, huh? I’ll have to chat with you about a bet that I need to make soon. I’ve known this person a LONG time (middle school) and she lives in SoCal too. I’m not gonna detail it out here, but we’ll chat soon!! Well, we won’t chat b/c anyone who reads your blog (http://blondenation.wordpress.com) knows that you’re in the middle of a social networking “fast”>